WhatsApp Beta for Android Gets Verified Accounts: Here's How It Will Work

WhatsApp Certified Profiles - Businesses

Certified profiles of WhatsApp for the purpose of businesses are apparently being tested on the Windows Phone beta app. Presently the company has come up and made an announcement on how the feature tends to function on the Android beta version.

For Android beta the company has added launcher App Shortcuts which will enable users to open directly a New Chat, Starred messages or in-app Camera. The feature is said to be live for Android beta users but it is not known on the availability of the same.

WhatsApp App Shortcuts had initially been spotted by Android Police and the site had displayed screenshots of the updated features. WhatsApp also enables these shortcuts to be dragged on the home screen as separate shortcuts and the messaging app also has the potential of creating shortcuts for self-regulating chats as well as camera on home screen.

 Though the new App Shortcuts tends to be useful, it probably will find lesser use owing to the choice of shortcuts. For instance, a new Status shortcut rather than New Chat shortcut would make more sense since the Facebook-owned company had reported that it had over 250 million users on the Status feature. It is rare that WhatsApp user open new chat window instead they tend to chat with those who exist on their friends’ list.

 

Increasing List of WhatsApp Features

 
WhatsApp starred messages shortcuts tends to take the users directly to three pinned chats towards the top of the chat list and though the choice seem to be useful of most of the users, there could be others who tend to end up in not utilising the shortcut at all.

WhatsApp has now added another feature to its increasing list of features introduced in 2017 with this announcement. Another most important feature likely to come up to the app will be the UPI integration for easy money transfers.

 Together with this, WhatsApp has joined in with Facebook, Instagram as well as Twitter in partaking in certified profiles and has taken initiative in increasing the convenience wherein users could interconnect with businesses on the platform.

With regards to the latest update in an FAQ post, Facebook-owned social media app had mentioned that some business account had been certified already by WhatsApp and if one tends to see a green badge with white tick mark near the name of a contact, you are assured that it has been certified by the company as a business profile. The company had stated in its post that `WhatsApp would enable the user to know when one begins talking to a business through yellow messages within a chat.
 

WhatsApp Business Verification Restricted

 
There is no manner in which one could delete these messages from the chat. If one tends to have a phone number of any business saved in the address book, the name seen will be the name one has saved in the address book.

If one does not have a business phone number saved in the address book, then they will see the name that the business seemed to have chosen for their own self, within the app. Moreover if the user does not desire any business to trouble you on WhatsApp, you could have the choice of blocking them in the same manner as in contact.

The company has explained that WhatsApp business verification is presently restricted to small number of businesses partaking in a pilot program. WABetaInfo who had initially spotted the feature had pointed out that with the announcement of 2.17.285 form of the Android beta app, the manner in which users tend to view business account and the information which is made available has been disclosed.

WhatsApp, as per report, has reorganized its servers to enhance the management of contact numbers and in case there tends to be a business contact in your address book, it will apparently not download that contact again.

 

New `Business Info’

 
Moreover, the report had also stated that the new `Business Info’ fragment has the information such as the address of the business, the real name of the business together with the mail address of the business as well as its website.

 If the business seems to have an account on Instagram, one would be presented with the link of that profile also. WhatsApp is said to have more than 1 billion active users on the app used in more than 60 languages and the platform had lately added a multitude of updated features to make it more convenient as well as exciting.

For Android it had made it simpler for users in formatting text to Italic, Bold, Strikethrough or Monospace by selecting the part which they desire to format. GIF support tends to make easy call forwarding, the capability of sharing 30 photos as well as video on one go with more addition to it. In India, where the app has reached to almost 200 million users, it is said to be looking forward in adding UPI enabled in-app wallet too.

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WhatsApp Rises as a Major Force in News Media

WhatsApp - Purpose of News

 
According to a study, WhatsApp is said to be one of the most prevailing means wherein individuals can discover and discuss various topics. However the utilisation of messaging app seems to differ extensively among countries. Over 50% of those surveyed in Malaysia had informed that they utilised WhatsApp for the purpose of news at least once a week.

 However in the US, the figure was said to be around 3% while in the UK it was considered to be 5%. It had also been indicated by the Digital News Report that the Brexit debate had led to mounting mistrust of the media of UK. It stated that around 43% of respondents had declared that the news could be trusted, down from last year to around 5% with BBC disapproved for having a pro-EU bias as well as failing to uncover the `distortions’ of the leave campaign.

Research had been conducted by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism which had covered 34 countries in Europe, the Americas and Asia besides Taiwan and Hong Kong which had been sponsored by the BBC and Google among others. In January and February, an estimate of around 71,805 had been questioned by YouGov to generate its data. Facebook still tends to lead though WhatsApp seems to be on the rise, and percentage of people utilising individual service at least once a week.
 

Facebook – Most Well-known Social Media/Messaging Service

 
The results indicated that Facebook tends to be the most well-known social media and messaging service for new engagement in all, though two countries namely Japan and South Korea wherein YouTube and Kakao Talk tend to dominate. However it adds that the utilisation of Facebook for the purpose of news had dropped in over half of the territories with the possibility of year-on year comparison. Sharing new stories by contrast as well as chatting regarding them seems to be increasing with private instant messaging apps especially in the case of WhatsApp.

As per a report, WhatsApp is said to be now the second most well-known social service for information in nine of the 36 areas as well as the third most famous platform in further five countries. Numerous prospective clarifications have been provided by the journalists for the rise of WhatsApp. The use of its end-to-end encryption means that messages can be seen only by their senders and recipients, providing users with the protection from being scrutinized by the authorities.

Nic Newman one of the authors of the study had commented that some of the biggest growth seen is in places like Turkey where it is positively risky for people to express anti-government preferences on open networks like Facebook.
 

Share-to-WhatsApp Button

 
As a consequence, people tend to use closed groups where they are more confident of expressing their views. WhatsApp has also profited from the circumstance that in much of Latin America together with other mobile networks have been providing unlimited data usage within the program has encouraged its use.

Moreover, numerous Spanish as well as Chilean media channels have incorporated the app and radio stations usually request listeners to send short voice recordings through the service. Local news site have also included share-to-WhatsApp button to their pages. Mr Newman however had stated that beyond that it could be complex for the media to take benefit of the popularity of the app further than publishing stories which people would prefer to share.

He had explained that one can set up branded areas or group of people on their own though it would be extremely heavy and time consuming and there seems to be few tools for assistance.
 

Digital News Report

 
He further added that part of the appeal of WhatsApp is that users do not get interrupted by brands, thus making it a pure kind of messaging which is something its developers would really tend to hold to. The report had also highlighted the widespread concerns regarding the so-called `fake news’.

It stressed on the suspicions of the users that the lack of rules and use of viral algorithms of social media had supported low-quality false stories to spread around rapidly. However, they have stated that there tends to be a strong distrust of the mainstream media especially in Asian and central, southern as well as eastern European countries where industry is seen as being closely linked to the government.

 The Digital News Report this year is said to be even more sobering than normal. Several of the institutions in the West, which tend to contribute to democracy, have been going through a crisis of trust and new providers are not exempted. The citizens of UK’s trust in news in general have dropped by 7% since the referendum of Brexit according to report which is a cause for worry.

 

Internet – Daily General News – Common Commodity

 
The combination of Reuter’s revelations that the proportion of people have been paying for online news in the UK seems to be `among the lowest of all the countries which had been surveyed and is a cause for alarm. One of the reasons could be the BBC, whose control in news ecosystem could mean the less people feel the need to pay for good news.

The link for a new generation between high-quality general news together with payment for the news could be violation. Due to the internet, the daily general news has become a very common commodity. With the help of tech giants such as Facebook and Google having more of the advertising share, news providers could find they have to specialise if they need to get audience to gain revenue and these audiences would not agree to pay for content which are not trustworthy.

Gaining back that trust in a period of digital echo chambers together with false news would be difficult though it needs to be done. Yahoo News is said to be the most famous online news brand with regards to the number of people utilising it at least once in a week all over the 36 markets all together. Moreover it also tends to rank as the top online provider of online news in the US, Taiwan and Japan.

Five WhatsApp Hacks You Should Know

WhatsApp has taken the era of messaging to another level. Starting from text messages to voice call and now video chat. It has magnanimously brought the entire world at the tip of your fingers. People opt for Android phones just to avail WhatsApp for themselves. You can even share photos and videos using this application. Other applications may not be there on everyone’s phone, but this is an application that is common to all. It is very addictive and you are liable to get charmed under its spell. The application has rigorously taken the notches high by introducing new updates and features after being taken under by Facebook. Here, are some enrapting tips that will give you a much advanced use of WhatsApp.

• How To Hide Your Chats – You can now hide all your chats so that no third person can get the hue of your personal life by just archiving them. In order to avail this option you need to go to the chat area and just tap and hold on to the chat you want to archive. Once the entire chat that you want to archive is selected, you will find that a button with a down-arrow will be visible on the left side of the screen. You just need to tap on that arrow and your chat will be archived and when you want to access this chat, just scroll down towards the end of the chat page and tap on the archived chats option. 
• How to Doodle on Images – You can now play with your photos and modify them the way you want as WhatsApp has upgraded itself to provide its users the benefit of Snapchat, due to this feature you can doodle the image before sending, i.e., you can add stickers or crop the image the way you prefer. 
• Text Highlighting – This is completely a new feature that is used during group chat or long compiled texts. The user will now be able to highlight the text by just tapping on the arrow on the top right corner of your skin. 
• You can also Tag People on WhatsApp – This feature is really beneficial in a group chat, as using this feature you can tag people in the respective group by using @. This enticing feature was previously available only on Facebook but now with the upgraded version of whatsapp you can use it in your group chat to avoid any confusion or misunderstanding in denoting people. 
• You can Mute Group Chats – WhatsApp might be very interesting, but it is a fact that we are not always free to entertain text messages. So, now you can avoid getting disturbed by frequent messages from any group. You just need to tap on the chat that you want to mute by pressing the mute button that appears on the top of the screen. A pop-up will immediately appear and will ask you that for how long you want to mute the conversation for eight hours, a week or a year. Just choose your desired time period and the feature will be applicable.

WhatsApp Gold: Scammers Trick Mobile Phone Users Into Downloading Malware

WhatsApp Users Tricked in Downloading `WhatsApp Gold’

Unsuspecting WhatsApp users are tricked into downloading `WhatsApp Gold which is a high-class type of the app that tends to infect mobiles with malware. Several app’s users have informed that they have received messages advising them to sign up for the service through the WhatsApp Gold website that has been connected in the message. In the message the invitation link provided is goldenversiondotcom and clicking on it leads to an error 404 message. It is not known how many users have been affected due to this scam. It is said that the app is not available on Apple App store or Google Play store.

 The additional features of the apps which the scammers state had been earlier available to top celebritieswhich comprise of the capability of sending hundreds of pictures instantly, new emojis, enhanced security features, audio-visual calling and added customisation options. The whole thing is babble and downloading the program from the site would only infect the phone with malware probably permitting the cybercriminals to get hold of your data or track your activity and movements. Recently there has been an outbreak of WhatsApp Gold messages though the scam has prevailed in various forms for some time under the name of `WhatsApp Plus’.

Advise of Company – Not to Click Link

Users will essentially be banned if it detects this unauthorised software on their phone as mentioned in the FAQ section of the site that `WhatsApp Plus is an application that was not developed by WhatsApp, nor is it authorised by WhatsApp. WhatsApp Plus developers tend to have no relationship to WhatsApp and we do not support WhatsApp Plus. The company has also mentioned that they would never ask their users to download or upgrade another app over text messages.

 It has also mentioned that it would reach it users over official point of contact such as emails. The company has advised users not to click on the given link within the message. They have also cautioned them that the scam software could pass on private information `to the third parties without the `knowledge or authorisation’ of the user. It also advises the user to instantly uninstall the unauthorised app and urge them to wait 24 hours before they can utilise the real WhatsApp again. This is similar in some way to the Apple ID scam that had hit iPhone users last month.

Disregard/Delete Any Messages – Refrain from Installing

By plundering on the illiteracy of technology, the scammers utilised enticing or worrying grounds in urging individuals to download malware or hand over their delicate information. The best way as usual to evade the WhatsApp Gold scam is to disregard and delete any of the messages which tend to mention it. The only apps to be downloaded should come from the Google Play Store or the App Store.

Should there be any doubt regarding a too-good-to-be-true new app, one should refrain from installing the same.As per a recent report, WhatsApp is the most popular instant messaging application in around 109 countries that is approximately 55.6% of the world and the firm tends to have more than a billion active users, monthly. Moreover the report also states that it has over 70 million users in India alone.

WhatsApp now has a Desktop Version for PC and Mac users

WhatsApp desktop App Linked to Mobile Phone

WhatsApp has eventually brought its highly popular messaging platform to the PC for Windows as well as Mac users and a desktop app has been launched, which tends to link with user’s phones so that they can message from their computer. Prior to the launch of its native desktop app, user could only utilise it through third party apps or the web version of the site.

Facebook owned company had informed in an official blog statement that the new app would include all the features such as desktop notifications, keyboard shortcuts and much more. Besides WhatsApp abilities, it brings it in line with other messaging platform Messenger of Facebook that has a native Windows 10 app in addition to web version. Intended to mirror the conversations from the mobile app, WhatsApp desktop app needs the mobile phone of the user to be switched on, close by and connected to the internet in order to function.

The basis for this apparently inconvenient need is to strengthen the security of the app by sending all the incoming messages to a specific device for protection from potential account hacking, according to the independent report. Moreover, account users are compelled to sign in with their phone numbers and forbid users from installing the app on other platforms such as tablets which makes the messaging service essentially mobile first and PC second.

No Calling Abilities

The new app is said to work just the same way as WhatsApp Web, the web browser form of the well-known messaging service. Users could scan a QR code on their computer screen with the phone to connect the two devices which is believed to improve the security of the app.

By providing inroad for PC users, the improvement will further speed up the growth that WhatsApp has seen over the years. Presently, WhatsApp has over a billion users all over the world. Early in the year, in order to improve the privacy of the user, WhatsApp had added end-to-end encryption to its mobile app.

Various keyboard shortcuts, comprising of Ctrl (command on a Mac) +Shift + M to mute a conversation and Ctrl + Shift + U to change the read status of a message, make the desktop app, an improved form of WhatsApp Web. Besides the shortcuts, the desktop app does not provide any new services to set it apart from the web form and does not have calling abilities.

WhatsApp Free to Download

But it does fill a gap bringing the service that has over a billion users, in line with apps like Slack, Messenger and Hangouts. Users will not have to log back in every time they close their web browser; with the desktop app. Desktop App of WhatsAppis free to download and is available for all software types after Windows 8 and Mac OS 10.9. In the meanwhile the release of the desktop app comes at an extremely contentious timing since the company is involved in legal problems with the Brazilian government especially with the law enforcement agencies over debated access to user data. The judge has already suspended the services of WhatsApp, nationwide, twice and has also ordered the jailing of a Facebook executive over its apparent refusal to hand over the requested data mentioned in a report of Venture Beat.

Whatsapp Encrypts Messages for all its Users

WhatsApp – Encrypting Messages For all Users

WhatsApp, the instant messaging service, is intending to reassure its users regarding their privacy by encrypting messages sent through its app. Whatsapp CEO Jan Koum, in his blog post had mentioned recently that every conversation on the messaging service irrespective of it being a private or group chat would have complete end-to-end encryption, making the recipient the only individual who can view the message. Koum writes in his blog on the WhatsApp website that `no one can see inside the message, neither cybercriminals, nor hackers nor oppressive regimes and not even us’.

He adds that end-to-end encryption tends to help in making communication through WhatsApp private, a kind of face-to-face conversation. The WhatsApp website has explained that end-to-end encryption tends to work by securing messages with a lock that only the recipient together with the sender are capable of unlocking and read with a special key. For additional protection, each message sent has its own unique lock and key which happens automatically and even WhatsApp cannot read any of the messages. This announcement of WhatsApp comes in the wake of one of the most high profile clashes in argument regarding encryption together with data privacy between the government and a technology company.

Depends on Signal Protocol

The App’s users are not only protected by encryption but it is a strong encryption. In a technical white paper released on April 4, the underlying cryptographic exchange has been described in details by WhatsApp, which tends to take place when users message each other. It depends on the Signal Protocol that has been created at Open Whisper Systems and uses double ratcheting in providing forward secrecy even when the session keys are compromised which means that if a rival is capable of uncovering the cryptographic keys used by the app, it will not compromise communications that are made with contacts in the past and will remain protected.

Strong and well-vetted cryptographic building blocks are used by The Signal Protocol for constructing and transmitting messages inclusive of ECDH utilising Curve25519. Besides the service’s strong end-to-end provisions, all the communication between the client apps together with the WhatsApp server have been encrypted utilising Noise Pipes from the Noise Protocol Framework.

WhatsApp – Over One Billion Users Globally

The FBI had asked Apple in February, to unlock one of the iPhones of San Bernardino shooters so that the authorities could access his data. Apple had refused asserting a breach of privacy and the FBI had taken Apple to court though eventually they were able to unlock the phone without the help of Apple and the suit was dropped.

However, the case stirred national debate over whether it would set a pattern for authorities in the future to unlock other phones and the question of privacy. Koum wrote that for him it was personal and he had grown up in the USSR during Communist rule and the fact that people could not speak freely was one of the reasons his family had moved to the United States. Messaging service of WhatsApp had been purchased by Facebook for an amount of $19 billion in 2014 and accounts for over one billion users globally.

How to Add Bold, Italic and Strikethrough Formatting to Whatsapp Messages

Facebook owned Whatsapp have brought in some cool new features with a recent update. Whatsapp has brought in features to add bold, italics and strikethrough to the messages which were not available before. Some experts believes bringing of such features will help Whatsapp in positioning itself as complete word processing platform which will be direct challenge to the Microsoft Office is some ways. Apart from the word processing related features Whatsapp also brings support for Google Drive which is a Google owned service. It is quite interesting to note that Facebook is allowing users to use Google Drive on the Whatsapp. It has been seen most of the tech giants makes it impossible for the users to use the rivals softwares and services on their apps and devices.

Update the Whatsapp to get these cool features

It should be noted that the Whatsapp available for download on the Google Play Store doesn’t comes loaded with these new features. In order to enjoy new feature you have to update the app to version 2.12.535 on the Android platform. iOS users will have to make sure their running the latest version of 2.12.17 on their devices. Most of the time update gets downloaded automatically if not then get your app updated by going to the respective app stores.

How to use the new features? 

As said earlier the latest update brings three features of bold, italic and strikethrough which can be inserted in the messages. But it is bit tricky to use these as Whatsapp has not provided any dedicated buttons on their app. In order to use bold users will be required to add asterisks at the beginning and end of their text like *bold*. To use italic font users has to add underscore on both the sides of text like _italics_ and to use the strikethrough users will have to add tildes on either side like ~tilde~.

Users can even experiment with various new formats by combing two features like _*bolditalics*_. This particular way will help in getting in both bold and italic style with ease.

The other new feature is the access to Google Drive. Whatsapp now allows user to share their documents from the Google Drive. In order to make use of this feature open the Whatsapp app select on Share followed by Share Document, More, Google Drive. Herein you will be direct to your browser to get permission access to the Google Drive.

The success of Whatsapp over the years

Whatsapp has become the world’s largest messaging service with its whopping over a billion million member count. It does faces competition from other messaging platform like Snapchat, WeChat, BBM but their numbers are nothing compare to the Whatsapp. It was purchased by the Facebook in 2014 after paying an incredible sum of $19 billion and Facebook has been running successfully aside it own Messenger app without any problems. The major changes introduced in Whatsapp under Facebook are the introduction of blue tick read receipts and the voice calling.

WhatsApp Finally Lets You Send Documents Over Chat

WhatsApps – Capability to Send Documents Over Chats

The Facebook owned WhatsApp Messenger; years after its launch had eventually received the capability to send documents over chats. The feature is noticeable in most builds available through Google Play and the App Store – Android v2.12.453 and iOS v2.12.4. A group of features with the updates had been introduced by WhatsApp. The WhatsApp v2.12.453 on Android which is available from Google Play for some users portrays a `Document’ option in the Attachment section.

All the users on the latest app version that is available from the company site, v2.12.489 are in a position to view the option showing a server-side update. Presently, users can only send pdf files, though the file support will possible be expanded in future.As earlier, there are six attachment options with Video and Photo presently combined in Camera owing to the addition of Document.

 User would now have the benefit of viewing shared Documents together with Media and the newly added Links tab. User cannot send a document till the receiver has updated the app to the same or latest Android app version. However, on attempt to send a document from iOS v2.12.14 to Android v2.12.489 over WhatsApp, it seemed to work fine.

Document Sharing – Helpful in improving use of WhatsApp Messenger app

When shared, WhatsApp tends to display a file preview of the pdf also creating the number of pages, files as well as type. With the limited functions made available currently, document sharing could be helpful in improving use of WhatsApp’s messenger app considering how predominant pdfs are in the business world.

As mentioned in Google Play listing, the WhatsApp v2.12.453 for Android in addition,brings over 100 new emojis Google Drive Backup for chats and media support 5 new languages and are now compatible with Android 6.0 Marshmallow permissions. Meanwhile WhatsApp for iOS v2.12.4 enables users to share photos or videos from other apps like Google Drive, Dropbox or Microsoft OneDrive.

Users would need to open Photo/Video Library and tap `Choose from another app…’ in order to share files. Besides this an enhanced design for browsing photos and video, iOS users could also zoom in on videos while they are in play mode. Another important feature added in the WhatsApp iOS app update is that users can now view the `blue ticks’ which indicates that the message has been seen by the other party, directly from the main WhatsApp chat list.

Available on iOS/Android But not Windows Phone

Earlier the users had to tap on the chat in order to open the thread and view if the receiver had read the messages or not. The updated app is made available for download from the App Store. In January, CEO Jan Koum had stated that WhatsApp would start testing more commercial services comprising of those which would enable consumers to communicate with businesses and document sharing seems reasonable in this larger context of business friendly features.

The features would tend to have direct consumer benefits together with things like sharing flyers, e-tickets, scans as well as other pdf of a more particular nature. Since WhatsApp has been invested in end-to-end encryption on its network, the documents that are shared on its service tend to be protected. The feature would now be on iOS and Android but not yet on Windows Phone.

WhatsApp to end Blackberry OS support

WhatsApp To End Support for Various Operating Systems

There have been some rumours that the handset maker would be winding down support for Blackberry 10 after it had released a smartphone running Android with the closure of its `Built for Blackberry’ programme for app developers. WhatsApp will end its support for various operating systems inclusive of Blackberry 10, Nokia Symbian S60 together with Windows Phone 7.1.

The company had mentioned that it wanted to concentrate the progress `on the mobile platforms, the vast majority of people use’. WhatsApp, owned by Facebook that is used by billions of users all over the world will stop working on the named operating system by December 2016. However, it will tend to work on the latest smartphone of Blackberry that runs Android.

Several of the operating systems which WhatsApp seems to be dropping support are legacy operating systems that are not updated or installed on the new devices. Blackberry 10 is the exception which had been launched in January 2013 and is still being developed by Blackberry. The firm had stated in January 2016 that they were also planning version 10.3.4 later this year with additional security improvements. The operating system, however had failed to increase traction with smartphone users and accounts for less than 1% of the market at present.

Strong Uptake across Developing Nations

WhatsApp had mentioned in a blogpost that while these mobile devices have been an important part of theirstory, they do not offer the kind of capabilities that is needed to expand the app’s feature in the future. It added that this was a tough decision for them to make though the right one in order to give people better ways of keeping in touch with friends, family, and loved ones using WhatsApp.

In February 2014, WhatsApp had been attained by social networking giant Facebook, one of its biggest takeover for an enormous amount of USD 19 billion. The platform observes 42 billion messages, 1.6 billion photos together with 250 million videos that is being shared daily. Besides this there are also one billion groups on WhatsApp.

Earlier, WhatsApp had stated that its services has envisaged strong uptake particularly across the developing nations like Brazil, India and Russia. When WhatsApp had started in 2009, around 70% of smartphones sold had operating systems offered by Blackberry and Nokia during that time.

WhatsApp Competing with LINE/Viper/Hike in India

The firm informed that the mobile operating systems provided by Apple, Google and Microsoft accounted for 99.5% of the present day sales. The smartphone world seems to be different to the one WhatsApp was born seven years ago.

 Presently BlackBerry has about 1% of the market though in 2009 it had been the leading smartphone vendor in the world. It became reasonable over the years for WhatsApp’s support to the major mobile platform in its attempt to be accessible to all. Presently the Facebook FB+0.42% owned company has come to a decision that the platform ubiquity is not worth the limitation which can bring about emerging new features.

The issue is not just that these platforms are not relevant anymore to smartphone users but restricted in what they could do with the upcoming features which WhatsApp has intended. Last week, WhatsApp had turned seven years old.

The company had mentioned in a blog post that it has also hit the 1 billion active user mark. It added that, `it is nearly one in seven people on Earth who tend to use WhatsApp every month to remain connected with their loved ones, their friends and their family. It has been competing with messaging apps like LINE, Viper and Hike in India.

Whatsapp Reaches a Billion Monthly Users

WhatsApp – Communication Offering Low Cost Chat

As reported by Facebook, WhatsApp, mobile messaging service is being used by billions of people each month. The app owned by Facebook tends to have overtaken the social network’s own Messenger mobile app that has around 800 million monthly users.

The company has informed that 42 billion messages together with 250 million videos have been sent through WhatsApp on a daily basis. However, one analyst has stated that WhatsApp tends to trail behind local competition in some of the key markets. Jack Kent, mobile analyst at IHS, has commented that there are big markets where WhatsApp is not the leading player.

WeChat in China tends to have over 500 million users while Line is well-known in Japan and Kakao Talk is big in South Korea. However, WhatsApp seems to be certainly most successful, internationally and part of that tends to focus on communication offering low cost chat which is very trustworthy.

While other apps have focused on monetisation, stickers and games,WhatsApp has appealed that it is light on monetisation and has now dropped its annual fee entirely. In 2014, Facebook had bought the mobile messaging app in a deal worth of $19bn.

Secured/Easy Option of Staying Connected

WhatsApp, founded only seven years back has altered the way users seem to message one another and has only one focus which is a secured and easy option for anyone to stay connected with their family and friends all across the globe without the tension of cost etc. that other messaging services tend to burden on their users. Hence whether it is for sharing information during calamity or simply staying connected,

WhatsApp is always available for its users. With their ambitions to grow still further, it would not be surprising to see WhatsApp improve with new features and probably with some enhanced ways of communicating. WhatsApp, not too long ago had planned to drop the $1 yearly subscription fee and since then, WhatsApp had promised not to show ads for their own users’ sake, it leaves one wandering on how the messaging platform intends to make money.

Usage data which the platform tends to generate for Facebook could support the company in improving its targeted advertising that is its fundamental business model according to Mr Kent.

Added Feature – Voice Calling

He has mentioned further that `Facebook had started pushing people to its own standalone Messenger appwhen it had purchased WhatsApp. However, according to him, there was a risk that it could have been attained by a competitor and Facebook could lose millions of highly engaged mobile users to a rival, but WhatsApp still tends to face those challenges from local players who seem to monetise their services well and the same remains to be a competitive space.

In 2015 WhatsApp had up to 700 million monthly users and thereafter WhatsApp has added voice calling wherein users could have another option of getting in touch with their contacts. On addition of the voice calls, it has also decided to develop a web client which reflects the app from the phone and the team tends to continue making improvement with speed and reliability of the app, while ensuring it to be simple and secure.

WhatSim Lets You Use WhatsApp for Free While Roaming Worldwide

We all are aware about the news that now WhatsApp is available for PC or Desktop, whereas; the phone chat app company in an association with Zeromobile has another surprise in store for its regular users, which is WhatSim. According to news reports from tech websites, one of the Italian company has launched a global SIM card for free WhatsApp service known as; WhatSim. This Sim card will allow the users to use service in all over the world without any roaming charges.

Till now to use WhatsApp, internet connection or active data connection on your mobile or Smartphone was essential and while traveling WhatsApp was used to ask that “If you will use service, so you need to pay the additional roaming charges”. WhatsApp is one of the most Smartphone chatting apps and currently it has more than 700 million active users.

Of course it’s not a first time when any company is providing SIM with unlimited WhatsApp use, but the earlier attempts were only for one specific country. In 2014, E-Plus, which is Germany based mobile telecommunications operator was launched the same scheme in an association with WhatsApp. According to company officials, WhatSim has neither monthly payments nor fixed costs and it will never expire.

Operation of WhatSim: 

New WhatSim card will allow you to use access WhatsApp unhindered in more than 150 countries with 400 telecom operators with free roaming. While using WhatSim card, you need to buy the credits for sharing multimedia messages and as well as voice messages, whereas; you need to take special mobile data connection if you want to use location updates, sending and receiving text messages, and contacts services with WhatsApp.

The price for WhatSim is only EUR 10 or $ 11 or Rs. 714.00 and user will get the SIM card with standard worldwide shipping as it cost EUR 5 or $ 5.60 or Rs. 350 and unlimited text messaging for a year. For example Zone 3 has been designated India and users traveling to India will need to get 600 credits for sharing video messages, 150 credits for text messages.

About WhatSim: 

WhatSim is the dream concept of Manuel Zanella, who is CEO and Founder of Italy’s Zeromobile Company. Zeromobile is Italy’s first ever global mobile operator, which provides low-cost roaming. With this additional tech accessory, all the WhatsApp users who love to travel frequently will get a relief because of free roaming charges.

As per the Manuel Zanella, “When it comes to mobile communication, so WhatsApp is the future, but the major disadvantage is that it can work only with data connection. Sometimes while traveling roaming charges are expensive and it’s difficult to find Wi-FI connection in free”.

The more he added in his statement that as I find someone who appreciate the use of WhatsApp, so I tried to figure out how to solve this problem and now WhatSim is an extraordinary opportunity for those who love to use WhatsApp.

Whatsapp and iMessage Could Be Banned Under New Surveillance Plans

According to recent reports, Snapchat, WhatsApp and iMessage could be banned in the U.K. after the murder of Charlie Hebdo. It was the shocking event in Paris where leaders of the world prove that, how little they understand the latest technology. David Cameron, in an event in Nottingham, England, stated about how Britain has been able to access any form of communication with advanced technology and tools.

Phone calls, internet traffic, letters all can be intercepted due security and intelligence reasons, but as per the Cameron few services such as; WhatsApp, Facebook, iMessage, Snapchat and countless other smaller versions can be problem for national security. At the end of whole speech, David Cameron stated, “The first duty of government is to keep the country safe for our people, so that they can enjoy the life.”

As per another member and Mayor from Cameron’s party, Boris Johnson, “I am pretty interested in civil liberties stuff and if they are threat, so I want to listen their calls and check their emails to”. It can be alarming quote for those who have tipped to be a future British PM. No doubt, David Cameron was referring to listen only terrorists, but we all know that for this they need to keep an eye on all residents.

In the world of democracy, if you have elects those who are best according to you and later you are managing the money after paying taxes to live in better country. According to normal peoples we haven’t elect them to spy on our private life, to stop us from having basic rights and freedom, we didn’t have put them in charge, it means they couldn’t have a understanding about latest technology then our teenagers.

The argument presented by government and its officials, mobile services such as; WhatsApp, Facebook, iMessage, Snapchat are not freely accessible from their intelligence agencies. It is expected that government has approached those companies and asked to keep an eye on their messages, but their request denied. Now government has only option either to break in their security or to get a court order for further records.

But it’s nothing other than stupidity to stop normal people doing normal things through their instant messaging services; the latest technology is the easy medium for terrorists to communicate securely. If two or more machines are running for communications through Tor, while using 256bit encryption with the help of an IRC server so it can give same headache to government. Government can have little trouble to see those chats as the source and destination with the chat content of messages would be fairly secure throughout the process.

Ultimately, this is all what British government wants, and French government seems to follow the same route in a system as China is doing as they are routing all the traffic through government firewalls and normal people can access only approved sites and services. But the other fact is it is more difficult to stop the people from using the communication apps.

WhatsApp’s New Update: Blue Ticks- Are you Happy?

The new update rolled out by WhatsApp has been welcomed by many people, but there are people who are actually dreading this update. The update was about receiving confirmation from the receiver that the message has been read by them.

You will find people freaking out due to the latest update rolled by the messenger. In the latest update, WhatsApp will be sending a read message from the receiver to the sender of the message by issuing them a double blue tick on the sent message. This tick will be marked on the message. The double blue tick indicates that the message has been seen and read by the user on the other end.

Meaning of the Ticks: 

Initially a single tick beside the messages was meant for indicating the sender that their message has been sent. Then they used to receive a double click in gray color indicating that the message has been received on the receiver’s phone.

However, there was no confirmation sent to the sender if the message has actually been read by the receiver or even seen by the receiver. However, with this new update the receiver of the message is not hidden anymore. Not only the sender of the message will be able to see if their message has been read but it will also indicate when it was read.

Looking at all the sides, while it is good for some to get information about the message being read it can go to the extent of spoiling many relationships. WhatsApp might lose some of their customers due to this update and they might even opt to other messenger services that are available in abundance now.

How can you get rid of these ticks? 

If you want to make your life easier by getting rid of these ticks, there are few ways to do that and there are tricks available on the internet. There has been no guarantee given for any of this tricks to work on your phone, it might work for some and might not for others. According to one of the tricks, once you are notified about the message, do not go directly to the WhatsApp, but you can view the same in the notification window and read the same.

You will have to remember that once you click on the notification, it will lead to WhatsApp page to open and sending notification to sender about the message being read. According to some people, you can put your phone on Airplane mode and then check on the messages.

Once you have read the message, put your phone back on normal mode and still WhatsApp will not be able to send any notification to the sender. This trick has worked for many people but few of them have encountered problems as WhatsApp on their phone was able to sync with their 3G or Wi-Fi and immediately sent notifications to the senders.

Although these are not sure shot methods, Android users have something to be happy. They can now add an additional desktop on their launcher and add WhatsApp widget to it. Once you receive any message, you simply have to check them on widget ensuring not to click on any message. To avoid opening the app in error, one can install app locks.

Whatsapp Just Switched on End-to-End Encryption

Jan Koum, founder of Whatsapp who grew up in Soviet Ukraine in the 80s, learned to distrust the governments. detesting its surveillance. When he emigrated to the U.S; decades later, he developed his ultra-popular messaging system and vowed that Whatsapp would never make eavesdropping easy for anybody.

Presently this app is following on that anti snooping promise at an unprecedented scale. Whatsapp currently the most popular instant messaging platform has started encrypting all data by default, which privacy advocates state would be aiding dissidents as well as human rights activists seeking communication protection from governments as well as hackers.

A privacy person not wanting the possibility of others reading the chat conversations, here is some good news from this quarter. A recent announcement has been made that it is implementing end-to-end encryption, which is an upgrade to privacy protection making it impossible for any to read users’ messages which includes the company itself.

The app will integrate the open source software messages with a cryptographic key which the user only can access. It is an uncrackable encryption for hundreds of millions of phones and tablets which have installed Whatsapp, the worlds’ largest ever implementation of this standard of encryption in messaging services.

End-To-End Encryption

End to end encryption mean that only the sender and receiver can read the text. The encryption feature is available in the latest build of the Android app which currently supports only one-on-one text messaging.Open Whisper System’s creator as well as a well-known software developer in the cryptography community, Moxie Marlinspike states that he thinks this is the largest deployment of end-to-end encryption ever’.

For a week, Textsecure had already been quietly encrypting Whatsapp messages between Android devices and the new encryption indicates that Whatsapp messages would now travel to the recipient’s device before being decrypted instead of being encrypted between the Whatsapp’s server and the users’ device.

Though the change is invisible, Marlinspike states that Whatsapp will add a feature soon to enable users to verify other identities depending on their cryptographic key which is a defence against the middle man’s attack that may intercept conversations. He states further that `ordinary users would not know the difference and it is totally frictionless’.

Not Applicable to Group Messages/Video/Photo Messages

Whatsapps’ messaging encryption, in its initial stage  is limited to Android and does not apply to group messages, video or photo messages. Marlinspike also adds that Whatsapp plans to expand its Textsecure to other features and platforms which includes Apple’s iOS, though he did not specify the details of the time frame and staffers of Whatsapp refrained from commenting on the latest encryption features.

He further stated that the Textsecure implementation has been progressing for six months, shortly after Whatsapp had been acquired by Facebook in February last. Massive user base for end-to-end encrypted messaging is from Whatsapp’s Android users alone and Whatsapp’s page in Google Play store portrays over 500 million downloads.

Textsecure had earlier been installed on only about 100 million devices running the Cyanogen mod variant of Android and about 500,000 other devices. This rollout of strong encryption to hundreds of millions of users could be unfavourable among governments across the world where surveillance could make it a difficult task.

Whatsapp on its way with free voice calling

Well, how many of you here are whatsapp user? Do you like to spend much of your time on it messaging your dear ones? Fortunately, whatsapp has been succeeded in reaching over 600 million users which proves that it has become the best means of staying in contact with their dear ones.

And if the reports are to be believed, it says that it will soon come up with free voice calling feature for its users, so that apart from messaging, sharing images, videos and all, they can even spend hours and hours talking on phone restlessly, without costing them a paisa.

The rumors got the air after the mobile messaging service whatsapp changed its interface. The change made in its interface is that the app has been enabled with other language translations which are helpful at the time of receiving a call via whatsapp. This change in its upcoming interface makes it clear that the free voice calling feature in the latest version of this messaging app is on its way.

WPCentral revealed that, some of the volunteers were asked to translate new strings, which used to translate the app’s Hindi version. These translations include words like Hang-up, Incoming call and Outgoing call. This truly indicates that functionality of voice calling is to be observed soon in whatsapp.

First of all, this messaging app has gained much popularity within no time due to its amazing feature. Most of the people prefer it as they do not have to frequently recharge separately for messages and even because it gives many additional facilities like sharing of images, videos, and many more. Apart from these, it given provides an option of audio recording that can be sent to any of your contact.

And now with this addition, god knows to which pick its progress graph is going to rise or will it just go beyond the expectations. One can say it has a major and sensible step taken by the whatsapp to boost and broaden its users which will help them to rank No.1 in the list.

This step will definitely cause a great damage to the already existing voice calling services like Viber, Line and we chat, which are still struggling to form a strong base in the market in order to have their existence.

Whatsapp CEO Jan Koum recently cleared the air by announcing that the voice functionality will be featured first for the Android and iOS interface and later followed by some Nokia and Blackberry handsets.

Conclusion:- 

It seems to be great news for the entire whatsapp user as now they can even call up their friends for no cost and have a late time talk. This will definitely help them attract more users and stand first in the list. It seems to be a great addition, but suggestion is that do not make fatal use of it, i.e. the use must be limited without getting yourself much involved in it.

WhatsApp Update Brings New Features

Android users can pay the WhatsApp subscription for their friends now. In addition, the update brings more data protection and eliminates errors in Samsung and Sony handsets. For users with Android Smartphones, a new version of WhatsApp Instant Messenger is available for download in Google's Play Store.

In contrast to the usual updates the fresh version brings a whole bunch of new feature to your Smartphone. So you finally fit in the privacy options of the app to who can see when you online including your profile picture and your status. In addition to the basic setting "Everyone" now have the options "My Contacts" and "No” to choose from your list.

The second major innovation was recently acquired by Facebook company introduces the ability to take on the resulting cost of service for a friend. For Android users to use this service a year for free of charge. Subsequently, a fee of 0.89 Euro per year will be charged.

 In addition to some bug fixes for Smartphones from Sony and Samsung, the makers have improved the delivery of images by means of new camera shortcuts. In addition, advertises the update with the improved preview feature of video in chat messages, and a new widget to display unread messages on the home screen.

However, these special features will function on the device of at least Android 3.0 installed. In addition, the update let you save profile pictures and group icons and share them with friends now.

Stiftung Warentest classifies WhatsApp as very critical

Stiftung Warentest has tested the data protection of WhatsApp and the other four alternatives of messenger service. The Swiss App Threema is the only one of the four messengers stood and fulfilled the requirements of the tester and stood alone. The independent consumer organization Stiftung Warentest has tested the Instant Messenger WhatsApp and four other alternative instant messengers.

The results give some unexpected results. Only the app Threema evaluate by the tester as non-critical where as WhatsApp itself is classified as very critical one in data protection, as well as the BlackBerry Messenger and Line also categorize as very critical and the same for the Telegram. According to Stiftung Warentest; they have checked the messenger in the Android and iOS versions of the Messenger, and they checked whether the apps encrypt user data and what information they transmit to whom.

“The assessment therefore refers exclusively to the Privacy Policy, writes the consumer organization. In other words, the usability of the Messenger has played no part in the tests. In addition to pure data transmission, the tester interested in the conditions of the actual app, transparency or openness source with respect to the transmission protocol and the availability and cost of apps. When the top rated app Threema welcome the tester that the Android version completely renounce the transmission of user data. In addition, the apps for iOS and Android saved the address book entries only under a pseudonym.

However one complaint is there are that Threema is not open source software. Therefore, a complete analysis according to Stiftung Warentest has not been possible. However, the same applies for all other tested apps. Even in the partly open source Telegram was not possible a full review of the transfer. The fact that data regarding the telegram sent unencrypted, but was ruled out, writes the consumer organization. The Messenger WhatsApp was described by the critics as very critical, unsurprisingly. The app was noticed in recent months repeatedly by security flaws.

According to Stiftung Warentest the Android version itself sends unencrypted data that the user enters including interview content might be. The tester feared that by many of the user data of WhatsApp transfer to the servers of Facebook. From the terms of the app, it is apparent that "the users data can be passed on to the new owner, i.e. Facebook.

 Facebook had announced the purchase of WhatsApp last Thursday. The other two Messenger, Line, and BlackBerry Messenger, were mentioned as critical by the consumer organization with respect to the data protection. The Android app of line sends the serial number IMEI of the device unencrypted to third parties further criticized by the tester. Blackberry on the other hand could create accurate personality profiles even with the data of its users.

Fake Your Friends With WhatsApp Location

Now You can tell your friends any time at where you are just with the WhatsApp. The GPS module in the mobile phone determines your location automatically for it.

Who wants to fake his WhatsApp location, but can also send a wrong location to your friends on Android. For this corresponding option, you must enable it. To do this, navigate to the settings to the Developer Options and put a check next to menu item “Allow mock locations “.

Then you need an app like Location Spoofer or Fake GPS Location with which you can select an appropriate location. In Whatsapp you will find the option to send your location data under the attachment icon in the chat window on the right top of the screen. If you don’t want to reveal your true location, you can disable the option in the Developer options at any time.

How To Download WhatsApp In Windows With Blue Stacks

In this article we provide necessary information on, how to install Whatsapp on computers especially in windows 7 and windows 8. It can be done by two ways to install Whatsapp, the first method is by using Blue stacks and the second method is by without using Blue Stacks.

Whatsapp:
 
Ø Whatsapp is a messenger which is normally used in mobile, it’s a application which works on various operating systems like android, iOS, etc. Whatsapp works only with the presence of internet connection.

Ø By using this you can chat with anybody over the globe for free of cost.

Ø While using you are not needed to remember your username and password, this will be working like a normal message services which present default in your mobile.

Ø You can also avail group chat in your Whatsapp.

Ø Here you can also send the multimedia messages by using Whatsapp in free of cost.

Ø The Whatsapp is completely free for anyone who using it for one year after one year after one year you need to pay $0.99 for using it further.

Download and install WhatsApp in windows PC with Blue Stacks
 
It is so easy for you to install the Whatsapp on windows computers.

In order to download and install Whatsapp in your windows PC you should have the Blue Stacks. You can download it from the internet.

Here we have given how to install the Whatsapp on windows computer by using Blue stacks.

Ø The blue stacks isan emulator i.e. android app player. By using it you can you will be allowed to play the android apps in your PC.

Ø Once you finished installing the blue stacks in your computer. Then search for “Whatsapp” in the search box of the emulator if you are not having it you can download it from the app stores.

Ø After downloading the Whatsapp you need to install it in your computer. For using it with the blue stacks.

Install and using WhatsApp by using YouWave
 
When the Whatsapp is installed using blue stacks in the computer many of you are getting numerous problems in your pc, like computer is being hanged for some time and becoming very slow. In order to avoid this we are introducing another method, which uses YouWave which overcome the problems which are caused to the computer by using blue stacks.

You can download the YouWave from the internet. But the poor thing is it will not be available for free of cost. But it can be downloaded as a trail version for a week. Using the Whatsapp with this you wave is so easy. You can collect this application from any of the app stores which includes Google play store. The awesome feature of the YouWave is you are allowed to export the downloaded app to anywhere you wish.
By using any of the above given methods you can easily install the Whatsapp in your PC and you can enjoy unlimited chatting!

How to Lock Whatsapp with Password in Android and iPhone

In this world of technology, everything has made easy for us. For example, mobile phones made us to feel very comfortable. There are lots of technologies has been evolved in this days. In this post, I have shared a bit of information about how to lock our whatsapp application with a password protection so that no one can open our inbox without our knowledge. Providing locks to your whatsapp account will provide a security to your chat account and all of its personal data. No one can open your account and changes its content or message to your friends without your permission.

Even your phone might have a PIN lock or pattern lock features, but providing Lock to your whatsapp will provide you more advantage rather than allowing others to read your messages. There are so many applications that can provide security for your Whatsapp account. But there are only few applications that will provide best performance to the Whatsapp Account.
Whatsapp Lock for your Android Mobile:

• Whatsapp Lock for Android is a simple application for your android mobile which provides you a perfect security for your Whatsapp account. This application can easily solve your problem and they provide you an ultimate security and privacy for your messages on the Whatsapp account.

•   The advantage of the Whatsapp Lock for Android is that the Whatsapp Lock for Android takes the photo of the person who tries to access your whatsapp account. Suppose if you were login with a correct pin, then it won’t the picture of the person. If you were login with a wrong pin, then it will snap the picture of the person who is accessing the whatsapp with a wrong pin. 
• Whatsapp Lock for Android provides you a awesome and fantastic user interface for the android users. 
•  Whatsapp Lock for Android is available for absolute free for you on the Google Play. This app is a free version for the android users. 
• You can download Whatsapp Lock for Android from HERE(https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.whatsapplock) 
• Whatsapp Lock for Android Supports from Android 2.2 version and higher.

Whatsapp Lock for iPhone: 

Do you need Whatsapp Lock for iPhone, and then you must know that there is no such an application for locking your Whatsapp account in the iPhone. There are several fake applications that are available over the internet. Before that you should know that there is no security is more powerful that the screen locks in iPhone. You can use that for providing security for your account. Stay tuned here. If any powerful application is there for locking whatsapp account, then we will update that here for you.

If you want to lock your whatsapp, you can use a home lock screen for protect it.

Whatsapp Lock for BlackBerry: 

This is a simple application for your Whatsapp account in your BlackBerry mobile. You can download that application from here.

http://appworld.blackberry.com/webstore/content/110377/?countrycode=IN&lang=en